KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat has set up ten bipartisan Special Parliamentary Select Committees (SPSC), says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) tabled a motion in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 21) to set up the committees.

She announced that some of the SPSC will cover finance and economy, health, domestic trade, entrepreneurship, cost of living and agriculture; infrastructure, transport and communications and nation building.

Azalina added that SPSC will also cover education and human resource development, women, children and community development, environment, science and plantations, security, international relations and trade and human rights, elections and institutional reforms.

“The committees will serve as a check and balance mechanism towards the respective ministries,” she told the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday.

Apart from the 10 committees, she also announced that the select committee agreed for the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia (APPGM) to continue.

The APPGM, setup in 2019, is a platform to discuss a common topic among parliamentarians and senators, as well as stakeholders comprising academicians, professionals, NGOs and partners.

The motion, which was seconded by her deputy Ramkarpal Singh, was passed unanimously by the House through a voice vote.

The 10 committees were selected by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) chaired by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Johari Abdul.

Members of the PSC include Azalina, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, Opposition chief Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin and PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.